It was a very small and extremely select group that met in the small office only a few hours later.

The judge was the last to arrive, since he'd been at church when Pepper had called him, but that gave the others a chance to get there, as well. An intern for the judge let Tony, Pepper and Peter into the little room, and had made herself scarce, telling them that she'd watch for any other arrivals and send them their direction. Peter looked around the office, remembering it from Christmas, when he and Tony had gone there to make his adoption complete.

He sat down in one of the chairs, but was too excited to sit still.

"Are you nervous?" he asked Tony.

The billionaire was leaning his hip against the desk, allowing Pepper to take the other chair in the room. He was also unable to stay still, really.

"No, buddy," he assured the boy. "I'm not nervous. Just happy."

"Me, too," Peter said. "I've never been to a wedding, before."

"Neither have I," Stark said.

"Did you go to one, before?" Peter asked Pepper.

She nodded.

"It's been a while, though – and it wasn't mine."

"I don't think this will be like you might have seen on TV or in the movies," Tony told the boy. "We're going about it a different way than the traditional ones usually are."

"It's going to be great."

There was a motion at the entrance, and Rhodey walked into the room. The man smiled, broadly, when he saw the others.

"Are you freaking kidding me…?" he asked, offering Tony his hand. "You asked her to marry you?"

"I had to," Tony replied. "Otherwise, she might have asked Peter to marry her – and then where would I have been?"

Rhodes snorted, amused, and kissed Pepper's cheek, then went over and ruffled Peter's hair.

"Hey, Cheese Pizza. What's going on?"

"Tony and Pepper are getting married. They're anteloping, and Pepper's going to be my mom."

The man couldn't help but smile at just how excited Peter was – and didn't even bother to ask what he was talking about when he said anteloping.

"That's what I heard." He decided that the boy was clearly pleased with the idea. "Imagine that; Tony Stark, married with a kid – and as far as I can tell, hell never even froze over like he said it would."

Stark rolled his eyes, and Pepper smiled. Peter, however, looked confused. Before he could say anything, though, there were more arrivals. Steve, Nick, Happy, Bruce and Sam walked through the door, and the little office was a lot smaller, suddenly.

"Where's Romanoff?" Tony asked, smiling a relieved greeting to all of them, but especially to Happy, who walked over and handed him a small velvet box. "She's coming, right?"

"She drove," Steve replied. "And is now looking for a parking spot."

"It's Sunday. How hard can it be?"

"There's some kind of ice parade going on," came Natasha's voice, responding to the question even as she walked into the room. She went over to Peter and picked him up, hugging him close. "So I had to park out in the middle of nowhere. Hey, sweetheart," she added, smiling at the boy in her arms. "Are you excited?"

"Yeah."

She looked at Pepper.

"Last chance to escape," she said with a smirk. "I'll hold Tony down while you make a run for it."

Pepper chuckled.

"Thanks. I'm good, though."

"So how is this going to work?" Sam asked. "No ceremony? Just papers signed?"

"That's all we technically need," Pepper confirmed. "But we did need-"

"Witnesses," Tony said. "You guys are here to make sure Pepper can't tell the press that it didn't happen."

The adults smiled at that, but Peter hesitated.

"Can she do that?"

"I'd never do that," Pepper assured the boy. "I love Tony and you too much to even think about it."

That made him smile, and he put his cheek on Natasha's shoulder.

Disaster averted, Rhodes looked at Tony.

"Are you going on a honeymoon, then? Need me to take Peter for a while?"

"We will have a honeymoon," Tony confirmed. "But not yet. Peter's in school and there are some meetings that can't be skipped – or pushed back. We'll hold off on the official honeymoon until we have more time to plan things around it."

"And we might just take him with us," Pepper added.

Before she could say anything else, though, there was yet another commotion at the door, and this time it was the judge who walked into the office. Wearing similar clothing to what he'd been wearing the day he'd made Tony a father, he nodded a greeting to the Avengers, not at all overwhelmed, despite having them in his office. Then he looked at Pepper.

"Miss Potts…"

She smiled.

"Good morning, James."

"You know… I didn't become a judge just so you'd have a handy way to avoid the normal waiting times."

Her smile widened.

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

He snorted, clearly relaxed and cheerful.

"So you really want to get married?" he asked. "You're not punking me, or something?"

"No. We do."

"Vegas is too far away," Tony added, unable to help himself.

"You're not pregnant, are you?" the judge asked, raising an eyebrow at Pepper.

Tony's eyes widened, but Pepper snorted, obviously amused.

"No. We just don't want to have a spectacle."

"Tony Stark marrying his CEO and settling down? Yeah, I can see how that would be a spectacle. You understand we won't be able to keep it a secret very long, right? Marriage licenses are public – like adoption applications – but unlike adoption applications, every news agency has someone on staff to constantly watch for anything interesting coming through. This will qualify, obviously."

"Obviously."

The judge nodded, and looked at Peter, who was still in Natasha's arms, but was watching the exchange.

"Hey, Peter."

The boy wasn't so shy, this time. He remembered the man, clearly.

"Hi."

"Is Tony taking good care of you?"

Peter smiled.

"Yeah. He made me an Ironman suit – only it has batman on it, too, and I wore it, yesterday."

"Wow. And you're good with him marrying Pepper?"

"Yeah. She lives with us, now." He was excited. "They're doing it and everything."

Natasha clapped her hand over Peter's mouth, but the motion was accompanied by a snort of amusement that she couldn't hide. Tony rolled his eyes, a slightly pained look crossing his features as the others all had their own various reactions to the boy's comment.

Rhymes smirked, looking at Pepper, whose ears were turning pink.

"Oh, how I love young children," the judge told them. He reached out and ruffled Peter's hair, and then moved to go behind his desk and sit down, reaching for the folder his clerk had put on his desk before she'd left. "Pepper? You're sure you want to get married? No one is forcing you?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she replied.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Absolutely."

The man looked through the papers, and pulled one out, turning it so it was facing away from him and toward Tony and Pepper.

"I need signatures, then."

Tony went first, taking a pen from his pocket and signing his name, neatly. Then he handed the pen to Pepper, his expressive eyes filled with love for her, even in such a mundane setting. She smiled and took it, signing her name next to his and then dating it for both of them.

The judge looked at the Avengers.

"Now we need two witnesses."

"I'm one," Fury said, stepping up and taking the pen from Pepper and signing his name where the man indicated.

"And me," Steve said, also stepping forward.

Natasha had her hands filled with Peter, after all – otherwise she might have volunteered. The people in the room watched as Steve signed his name, as well, and then handed the pen back to the judge.

"Well, then, it's official," Rhymes told them, his gaze on Pepper and Tony. "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Tony smiled, and Rhodey slapped him on the back.

"Congratulations."

There were assorted handshakes and hugs and more slaps on the back among the people in the room.

"Do you have rings?" Rhyme asked. "If you do, you can start wearing them, now."

Tony reached for Pepper's hand, the ring that he'd picked out and purchased for her in the other. He smiled at her when he slid it onto her finger.

"It was supposed to be an engagement ring," he told her. "We'll go shopping for wedding rings and do it proper."

She smiled, and kissed him, lost in just him for a moment – despite the others in the room.

"It's beautiful."

It was, too. Gold with a diamond that caught the light in the room and refracted it into a million tiny lights that sparkled so prettily. She didn't wear a lot of jewelry, but this was already her favorite.

"So are you."

There was silence among the others, a chance to allow them that moment of privacy, and then Nick cleared his throat.

"This definitely calls for some kind of celebration," he told them. "Let's head out."

"Where are we going?" Stark asked.

"To your place," was the reply. "The reception should be set up, by now."

"The reception?" Pepper echoed.

"Can't have a marriage without a reception," Fury pointed out. "When Tony called to tell us where we needed to be – and why – I had a few people head to your place to get things ready. If they did it right, there'll even be a cake, of sorts."

Peter looked impressed. He still had his arm around Natasha, but he'd watched everything as it unfolded, holding his breath when the papers were signed. Peter knew how important signatures were, after all. That was what had made him Tony's son, right?

"What kind of cake?" the boy asked.

"I didn't bake it," Nick told him, tapping his nose and smiling when Peter did. "We'll have to wait and see."

Pepper smiled, too. She looked at the judge.

"James? Would you like to come celebrate with us?"

"Can't," was the reply. "My wife expects me at home." He smiled. "If you decide to actually have a real wedding, however, I expect to be invited."

"Done," Tony told him, offering his hand. "Thank you, again."

"You're welcome." The man hugged Pepper, and then nodded to the others. "Now, get out of my office so I can go home."